REGION
Friday, June 3, 2016
East Oregonian
Page 3A
PENDLETON
Fire season begins
Relay ights cancer one step at a time in Central Oregon
Youngman to serve as
East Oregonian
Survivor Ambassador
Wildire season begins
Friday in the Oregon
Department of Forestry’s
Central Oregon District,
which includes nearly all
of Grant County, as well
as portions of Wheeler and
southern Morrow counties.
District ire managers
say forest fuels are drying
at a rapid pace, with more
warm and dry weather
in the forecast. With the
implementation of ire
season, some burning
permits issued earlier in the
spring may no longer be
valid, and industrial slash
burning won’t be allowed
on ODF land.
Logging companies will
need to have ire tools, water
and watchmen on hand
By TAMMY MALGESINI
East Oregonian
A familiar face will
welcome participants during
the upcoming Pendleton
Relay for Life.
Serving as Survivor
Ambassador,
Kathryn
Youngman will speak during
the opening ceremonies
Friday, June 17 at 6 p.m. at
Sunridge Middle School,
700 S.W. Runnion Ave.,
Pendleton.
Survivors, as well as
those currently ighting
the disease, are invited to
a special survivor dinner
prepared by McKay Creek
Estates. The meal will be
served at the conclusion of
the opening ceremonies.
A fundraiser for the
American Cancer Society,
the event runs all night —
representing that cancer
never sleeps. It concludes
with closing ceremonies
Saturday, June 18 at 7 a.m.
People will hit the track
throughout the evening and
night. There will be some
themed laps featuring every-
thing from glow-in-the-dark
items, going backwards and
lashlights to poker and noise
makers. In addition, team
encampments will offer a
variety of activities to raise
additional money for the
cause.
People are invited to
come out and participate —
either all night or for just a
few hours.
“We would like the
community to take part in
it, and embrace it as their
own,” said Gert Hawthorne,
a longtime Relay for Life
volunteer.
Virgil Bates has partic-
ipated as both a survivor
and as a way to honor his
brother, David Taylor, who
died from pancreatic cancer.
The Mission man said the
Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini
Members of Team Top to Bottom set up their encampment during a past Pendleton
Relay for Life. This year’s event kicks off Friday, June 17 at 6 p.m. at Sunridge Middle
School.
HERMISTON
Relay for Life
STARTS: Friday, June
17; 6 p.m.
ENDS: Saturday, June
18; 7 a.m.
WHERE: Sunridge Mid-
dle School, Pendleton
INFO: www.facebook.
com/PdtRelay
EO ile photo
Pendleton High School Spanish teacher Kathryn Young-
man will serve as the Survivor Ambassador during the
Friday, June 17 opening ceremonies of Pendleton Re-
lay for Life at Sunridge Middle School.
event is a great opportunity
to provide encouragement to
others. It helps people know
they aren’t alone, Bates said.
A moving tribute to those
who have lost their ight
against cancer takes place at
9 p.m. The Luminaria Cere-
mony features glowing bags
along the track, a speaker,
music and a silent lap. It
offers a time of relection
and honoring those who died
from the disease.
Karen Malcolm, a past
chairwoman for the event,
also ights the disease as an
American Cancer Society
Cancer Action Network
volunteer. She said people
don’t always agree on
everything, but Relay for
Life joins the community in
a common cause.
“We stand together in
the ight against cancer,”
Malcolm said on the event’s
Facebook page. “See you at
the track!”
For more information, call
Gert Hawthorne at 541-215-
9767, Carol Preston at
541-379-6294 or visit www.
facebook.com/PdtRelay.
———
Contact Community
Editor Tammy Malgesini at
tmalgesini@eastoregonian.
com or 541-564-4539
EOU Commencement set for June 11
More than 700 bachelor’s
degrees to be conferred
Photo contributed by Hermiston Fire & Emergency Services
Hermiston ireighters work to extinguish a ire at
Columbia Basin Onion southwest of Hermiston on
Wednesday afternoon.
Onion shed ire caused
$1.2 million in damage
East Oregonian
A ire that consumed an
onion shed outside Herm-
iston Wednesday afternoon
caused an estimated $1.2
million in damage to the
building, according to
Hermiston Fire & Emer-
gency Services Chief Scott
Stanton.
Stanton
said
that
estimate does not include
a pickup truck, tools and
a piece of machinery
that were also inside the
building at the time.
About 45 ireighters
were on scene at Columbia
Basin Spreaders’ Westland
Road location for more
than two hours Wednesday
after the blaze started about
3:30 p.m.
One person was injured
in the blaze, and was lown
to a Portland burn unit for
treatment.
The cause is under
investigation.
BRIEFLY
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Approximately
456
students will participate in
Eastern Oregon University’s
formal
commencement
ceremony Saturday, June 11
in La Grande.
The event will be held
outdoors at Community
Stadium, beginning at 10
a.m. No tickets are required
to attend, and seating will
be available on a irst-come,
irst-serve
basis.
Free
parking will be available
all day at lots on campus,
excluding reserved spaces.
Oregon Gov. Kate Brown
will deliver the keynote
address, which will focus
on college accessibility
and affordability. Also
scheduled to speak is EOU
President’s Scholar Cassie
Gray-Jeffries, of La Grande,
who is completing her bach-
elor’s degree with a double
major in anthropology and
history.
Shahayla Ononaiye, of
Kuna, Idaho, will perform
the National Anthem, and
Haley Hill, of Eagle, Idaho,
will sing the Alma Mater.
Ononaiye will receive
degrees in music and busi-
ness administration, while
Hill is completing her degree
in English and writing.
For the 2015-16 academic
year, EOU will confer more
than 700 bachelor’s degrees,
about 85 master’s degrees
and nine associate degrees.
Tim Seydel, EOU’s vice
president for university
for ire suppression when
working in the area, while
recreationists are reminded
to exercise campire safety.
Sky lanterns, tracer ammu-
nition and exploding targets
are all banned during ire
season.
Human-caused
ires
accounted for 60 percent of
all ires during the 2015 ire
season, which was higher
than the 10-year average,
according
to
District
Forester Mike Shaw.
“We can’t predict when
and how many lightning
ires we will get, but we
can reduce the number
of human starts by being
smart and deliberate in our
actions,” Shaw said.
More information is
available at www.odfcen-
traloregon.com.
Hermiston book club discusses
hidden girls of Afghanistan
HERMISTON — A book by an investigative reporter
about girls in Afghanistan being forced to live as boys
prior to puberty will be discussed in the Hermiston
Public Library’s book club.
Bookminders meets Wednesday, June 8 at 11:30
a.m. at The Pheasant Bar & Grill, 149 E. Main St.,
Hermiston. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Jenny Nordberg wrote “The Underground Girls of
Kabul” after learning about the secret practice of bacha
posh, where mothers disguise their daughters as sons
due to the treatment of females in Afghanistan.
For more about the book club, call 541-567-2882.
Contributed photo
Eastern Oregon University will hold its formal commencement ceremony on June 11.
“Our new president ... has been doing
great, and our board is doing great.”
— Tim Seydel, vice president for university advancement
advancement, said recent
graduating classes have been
inlated given an increase in
college enrollment around
the time of the recession.
Looking ahead, Seydel
said administrators expect
those numbers will decline in
the coming years. However,
new President Tom Insko
and the university’s board
of trustees have their sights
set on boosting on-campus
enrollment by as much as 20
percent year over year.
According to a recent
article in the Oregonian,
full-time on-campus enroll-
ment dipped to 1,190 last
fall — a 28 percent decline
from 2003 — amid “rampant
leadership turnover.” But
Seydel said Insko’s arrival,
along with the new board,
is helping EOU to ind its
footing. Retention rates
are expected to be 71 to
72 percent for students
returning to campus next
fall, which already shows an
increase.
“Our new president ...
has been doing great, and
our board is doing great,”
Seydel said.
Other activities related to
this year’s EOU Commence-
ment include the Oregon
Health & Science Univer-
sity’s School of Nursing
Convocation and Awards
Ceremony, which will be
held at 10 a.m. Friday, June
10 in McKenzie Theater
in Loso Hall. The annual
Student Awards Ceremony
will be held later that same
day, at 1:30 p.m., also in
McKenzie Theater, where
36 awards will be presented.
That evening, at 5 p.m., is
a celebration for off-campus
graduates and their families
in the Gilbert Center, located
adjacent to Ackerman Hall.
More information and
detailed schedules can be
found online at www.eou.
edu/commencement.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
SUBMIT COMMUNITY NEWS
Submit information to: community@eastoregonian.com or drop off to the attention of Tammy Malgesini at 333 E. Main
St., Hermiston or Renee Struthers at 211 S.E. Byers Ave., Pendleton. Call 541-564-4539 or 541-966-0818 with questions.
“We wish you
a Great
Summer!”
H ibbert
D ental
1100 Southgate, Suite 3 Pendleton, OR 97801
www.hibbertdental.com • 541-612-3707
Enjoy the
Jazz sounds of
Brass Fire
June 4th, 2016
7 pm - 10 pm
In the Red Lion Lounge
304 SE Nye
Pendleton
541-276-6111
Goathead Roundup pays for
puncturevine June 18, 25
PENDLETON — Pendleton on Wheels is on a
mission to reduce the amount of puncturevine, also
known as goatheads, in the area.
The pesky weed lattens the tires of bicycles, gets
caught in puppy paws and can make choir boys swear.
Even the scientiic name sounds bad — Tribulus
terrestris.
The Goathead Roundup will pay people $5 for
each 30-gallon bag illed with puncturevine weed and
its root. It’s important to get the root to help prevent
re-growth.
People can drop off bags of puncturevine Saturday,
June 18 and Saturday, June 25 from 8 a.m. to noon at
the Pendleton Parks & Recreation/Olney Cemetery
Facilities Department, 865 Tutuilla Road, Pendleton.
For more information, contact Doug Webb at
stormwebb@hotmail.com.
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